The revived Hammer Films' debut feature Beyond the Rave has gained a director and a full cast, according to ShockTillYouDrop.com. Matthias Hoene, who has helmed music videos for Tom McRae and Fatboy Slim, will take the director's chair for the production. The cast includes Nora-Jane Noone (The Descent), Jamie Dornan (Marie-Antoinette), and Tamer Hassan (Layer Cake). Legendary Hammer actress Ingrid Pitt is expected to make a cameo. No word on whether the previously-reported Rick Warden ("Band of Brothers") is still in as vampire Strigoli.

The script for Beyond the Rave followsa soldier named Ed who, on the eve of being deported to Iraq, sets out with his pal Necro to find his girlfriend. When Ed and Necro finally catch up to her at a rave in the woods, they learn they are in the company of bloodsuckers and that the lead vampire Melech has plans for this party's guests.

Fangoria.com is reporting on one of the stranger screen-to-stage adaptations in recent memory: Manos: The Rock Opera of Fate. Based on the 1966 film Manos: The Hands of Fate, which may be the worst ever made by anyone ever, the new musical debuts September 28th at the National Pastime Theater in Chicago.(read more...)

The Internet Movie Poster Awards have the latest promotional art for The CW's upcoming supernatural comedy "Reaper." The series stars Bret Harrison as a slacker whose life is going nowhere, until he finds out his parents sold his soul to the Devil (Ray Wise). Now he has to act as a bounty hunter for hell, bringing in escaped souls with the help and/or hindrance of his friend Sock (Tyler Labine). The show's premiere episode, directed by Kevin Smith, airs Tuesday, September 25th at 9PM EST/PST on The CW.

More DVD news from the Weinstein Company and Genius Products, this time for the New Zealand rampaging animal flick Black Sheep. Writer/director Jonathan King's horror-comedy will be available to purchase on October 9, 2007 on the Dimension Extreme label. Suggested retail price is $24.95 (pre-order Black Sheep on Amazon.com). The disc will include:(read more...)

Curtis Harrington's 1973 crime-horror-thriller The Killing Kind will be making its DVD debut courtesy of Dark Sky Films, DVD Drive-In reports. The disc will also contain the last on-camera interview with Harrington, who died earlier this year. In the film, Terry Lambert (John Savage) is released from prison and moves into a boarding house run by his overbearing mother (Ann Sothern). While spying on one of the tenants (Cindy Williams) gives Terry some pleasure, things are not all well. He's developed a taste for rough sex and violence while in prison. When the judge (Ruth Roman) and key witness (Sue Bernard) who put Terry behind bars meet terrible fates, how long will it be before things turn badly for the other women in his life?(read more...)

We've received the cover art for Anchor Bay's Mario Bava Collection: Volume 2. This box set, set for release October 23rd, will contain eight of Bava's films, including Lisa and the Devil, House of Exorcism, Bay of Blood, Baron Blood, Kidnapped, Roy Colt and Winchester Jack, 5 Dolls for an August Moon, and Four Times that Night. Bava expert Tim Lucas (who recently released the definitive book on Bava, "Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark", available for order here) provided commentary tracks for Lisa and the Devil, Baron Blood, and Bay of Blood. A commentary for House of Exorcism by producer Alfredo Leone and star Elke Sommer has been imported from Image's previous release of the film.(read more...)

A swing through Anchor Bay's website revealed the cover art for their upcoming 20th Anniversary DVD of Clive Barker's Hellraiser, due to hit shelves on October 23rd, 2007. The disc will contain:(read more...)

George A. Romero's new zombie film Diary of the Dead will contain cameos by several recognizable names, but don't look for familiar faces. According to a feature in USA Today, Stephen King, Quentin Tarantino, Simon Pegg, Wes Craven, and Guillermo del Toro will all lend their voices to Diary. Given Romero's focus on media in Diary ("I thought it would be cool to go back to Day 1, when it all starts, and lay media stuff on top," Romero told USA Today), my guess is that we'll be hearing these voices from televisions and radios.

Diary of the Dead makes its world premiere Saturday as part of the Midnight Madness program at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film has no United States distributor yet, but we expect that to change after the premiere.

Despite rumors that Lions Gate's DVD release of last year's remake Night of the Living Dead 3D would be in 2D, ShockTillYouDrop.com reports that the disc will come with four pairs of 3D glasses when it's released October 9th. The DVD will also feature:(read more...)

Here it is, boys and girls, the big day. September 7th, 2007. Adam Green's slasher Hatchet opens in 70+ theaters across the country and it's time to show our support. If you're sick of remakes, sick of sequels, and you just want to see some good, old-fashioned 1980s-style blood-and-gory fun up on the big screen where it belongs, find the nearest theater playing the movie and get there. Julia and I have already reserved our tickets for the 8:30PM showing at the AMC Deer Valley in Phoenix, AZ.(read more...)